Rope holder

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a generally rectangular, buoyant line or rope holder having a body with large and small side-by-side yokes for the winding about the smaller yoke of the anchoring end of a rope and about the larger yoke the major portion of the rope adapted to be readily unwound and released to allow the proper length to be used as desired as, for example, behind a boat by a skier, or attached to an anchor, or in another manner.

United States Patent 72) Inventor John M. Cowart, Jr

2408 N. Hooner St, Albany, Ga. 31701 [21 Appl. No. 851,999

[22] Filed Aug. 21, 1969 [45] Patented Apr. 27, 1971 [54] ROPE HOLDER 4Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl. 242/85.l [51] Int. (I B65h 75/36 [50] Field ofSearch242/851,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,035,825 8/1912 Hesser242/85.1

1,901,050 3/1933 Voorhees FOREIGN PATENTS 26,836 1903 Great BritainPrimary Examiner-George F. Mautz Assistant Examiner-Gregory A. WaltersAttorneysA. Yates Dowell and A. Yates Dowell, Jr

ABSTRACT: The present invention is a generally rectangular, buoyant lineor rope holder having a body with large and small side-by-side yokes forthe winding about the smaller yoke of the anchoring end of a rope andabout the larger yoke the major portion of the rope adapted to bereadily unwound and released to allow the proper length to be used asdesired as, for example, behind a boat by a skier, or attached to ananchor, or in another manner.

ROPE HOLDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Theinvention is in the field of holders or carriers for lines, ropes, orthe like about which holders or carriers, such lines or ropes areadapted to be wound and unwound to store and use the same.

2. Description of the Prior Art Line and rope holders or carriers ofvarious kinds have been used for clothes lines, anchor lines, fishlines, and the like. Usually these have only one yoke, were unwieldy andcould not be used with facility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS The invention is a generallyrectangular, buoyant body with an opening for receiving the fingers andgripping the same centrally of its length and near one side edge andsuch body having parallel yokes for the winding of water ski, anchor,and other ropes thereupon.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simple, inexpensive holderfor the quick, easy, neat winding thereon and releasing of the ropewithout the rope burning the hands due to rapid slipping therethroughwhen the rope is used for water skiing, when connected to an anchor, orthe like, so that it will not become tangled or foul the propeller ofthe boat with which used.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a holder of buoyantlightweight material such as molded plastic, and having parallel windingareas or yokes one smaller for receiving fewer windings of the rope andthe other larger forreceiving the major windings of the rope thereabout,and each of which yokes has oppositely disposed opposed concavities sothat the rope can be readily wound around and dislodged from the same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation of theinvention with the line or rope wound thereon;

FIG. 2, a similar view from the opposite side;

Fig. 3, a perspective illustrating the use of the invention;

FIG. 4, a view of the holder itself, and

FIG. 5, an edge elevation.

With continued reference to the drawing, the line or rope carrier orholder of the present invention comprises a generally rectangular,buoyant body of plastic, such as polyethylene or other substance andpreferably having slightly concave side edges 11 and 12. A finger gripportion 13 comprising aperture means for receiving the fingers isprovided with the end of said body having oppositely disposed opposedlarge and small concave yoke portions or indentations 14 and 15. Theopposed concavities or indentations 14 provide a larger yoke forreceiving maximum windings of a rope l6, and the opposed concavities orindentations 15 form a smaller yoke for fewer windings of such rope.

In the use of the device, the anchoring end of the rope is wound aboutthe indentations 15 which form the smaller yoke, and the major portionof the rope is wound about the larger indentations 14 which form thelarger yoke. It will be understood that a predetermined length of therope having a hook 17 at its end is wound about the smaller yoke withthe hook being the last thing placed on the holder in such area.Thereafter the remainder of the rope is wound about the indentations 14which form the larger yoke with the handle or bridle portion 18 beingthe last part placed upon the holder. In order that the rope may rapidlybe released from the larger yoke, as indicated in FIG. 3, theindentations 15 are relatively shallow and have a relatively gentleslope at the sides in order to permit free unwinding of the rope.

When the device is used by a water skier, the smaller winding of therope is unwound from the holder and the hook is attached to an eye atthe stern of the boat wnereupon the bridle is given to the water skierand the holder is held by either the operator or someone on the boat andalternately is tipped or oscillated in the place of the body to releaseor play out the rope while the boat is operated slowly until the waterskier is at the proper distance away and with the rope kept sufficientlytaut to prevent the propeller being fouled. After the rope has beenremoved entirely from the holder or let out,

the latter is placed in the boat and the operator of the boat increasesthe speed to pull the skier out of the water so that the skies will beon the surface of the water. After the rope is used it may be readilyrewound as indicated with the short or anchoring portion of the smalleryoke and the larger portion on the larger yoke.

The holder of the present invention is susceptible of use by having ashort end of the rope attached to the front of a boat and the long endattached to an anchor. The holder also is susceptible of use with andcan be stored with a sea anchor when the latter is collapsed. In thisuse the short end of the rope can be passed through the handle-formingrecess of the holder so that after the short end is attached to the bowof a boat it is only necessary to throw the sea anchor overboard and therope will automatically unwind from the holder with the holder remainingon the rope due to the fact that the rope passes through the opening forthe fingers of the hand.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a simple, practical,inexpensive, buoyant, time-saving holder is provided of greatconvenience when used for the purpose intended or as a water ski ropeholder, an anchor rope holder, or other rope-storing device, and suchholder will provide for the neat storage of the rope and improve safetywhen used regardless of whether in lengths of 75 feet to 100 feet orlonger or shorter. The rope may be of polyethylene or other relativelystrong material and with the handle capable of withstanding a couple ofhundred pounds or other desired pressure. It will also be apparent thatthe use of the holder will avoid twisting or tangling of the rope andthe use also permits the playing out of the rope to be done by waterskiers so that .multiple holders can be employed and water skiersaccommodated with the water skiers playing out the rope where the holderis employed by more than one water skier, and the holder of the presentinvention provides for the neat stacking or storage, out of the way, onthe rope-wound holder, in a boat, or elsewhere and the rope can bereleased without subjecting the hands to rope burn.

I claim:

1. A holder for the storing and quick application and release of a ropeto facilitate the use of the same by a water skier or as an .anchor orother use, said holder comprising a generally rectangular buoyant bodyhaving larger and smaller indentations at each end with the largerindentations at opposite ends in opposed relation and the smallerindentations at opposite ends likewise in opposed relation, and with thelarger indentations and the smaller indentations forming sideby-sidegenerally parallel larger and smaller yokes of a character to receiveabout the smaller yoke the anchoring portion of a rope and about thelarger yoke the primary-use portion of the rope so that first theanchoring portion of the rope may be unwound and thereafter theremaining portion of the rope unwound, the larger indentations being ofrelatively shallow depth and having a slope at the sides which pennitsfree unwinding of the rope, said body having aperture means forreceiving the users fingers adjacent one edge and intermediate saidsmaller indentations to facilitate the gripping and holding of the bodyso that the holder can be alternatively oscillated in the plane of thebody to release the primary-use portion of the rope.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said aperture means is an elongatedopening parallel to the side edge of the body to receive the fingers ofthe hand.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which the body is formed of polyethyleneplastic.

4. The structure of claim I and a rope having an attaching fastener atone end and attached to a gripping handle at the other.

1. A holder for the storing and quick application and release of a ropeto facilitate the use of the same by a water skier or as an anchor orother use, said holder comprising a generally rectangular buoyant bodyhaving larger and smaller indentations at each end with the largerindentations at opposite ends in opposed relation and the smallerindentations at opposite ends likewise in opposed relation, and with thelarger indentations and the smaller indentations forming side-by-sidegenerally parallel larger and smaller yokes of a character to receiveabout the smaller yoke the anchoring portion of a rope and about thelarger yoke the primary-use portion of the rope so that first theanchoring portion of the rope may be unwound and thereafter theremaining portion of the rope unwound, the larger indentations beIng ofrelatively shallow depth and having a slope at the sides which permitsfree unwinding of the rope, said body having aperture means forreceiving the user''s fingers adjacent one edge and intermediate saidsmaller indentations to facilitate the gripping and holding of the bodyso that the holder can be alternatively oscillated in the plane of thebody to release the primary-use portion of the rope.
 2. The structure ofclaim 1 in which said aperture means is an elongated opening parallel tothe side edge of the body to receive the fingers of the hand.
 3. Thestructure of claim 1 in which the body is formed of polyethyleneplastic.
 4. The structure of claim 1 and a rope having an attachingfastener at one end and attached to a gripping handle at the other.